2015 New Orleans Film Festival day-by-day viewer's guide: Secrets to making the best of your fest

A decade ago, New Orleans Film Festival organizers found themselves at a low point. With parts of the city still underwater following Hurricane Katrina, and even basic necessities still a relative scarcity, they had to pull the plug. For the first time since its founding in 1989, the festival had to be canceled.

What a difference a decade makes. As it marks its 26th year with the kickoff on Wednesday (Oct. 14) of its 2015 edition, the New Orleans Film Festival is bigger than ever, continuing the explosive growth trend it has enjoyed over the past few years.

Just two years after the storm, the festival featured 67 films. Now, following expansion after expansion, it boasts the screenings of a staggering 194 films, culled from an even more staggering 3,400 submissions. Both are records for the fest.

Fittingly, one of the films on tap is "The King of New Orleans," an exceptionally well-written post-Katrina drama, and one of a number of only-in-Louisiana films adorning the festival schedule. Several buzz-generating Hollywood films can also be found in the mix -- such as "Brooklyn," "Anomalisa," "Our Brand is Crisis," "Legend" and "I Saw the Light" -- alongside a wealth of independently produced features, documentaries and short films from newer voices in the cinema landscape.

Glad you asked. Below, find my 2015 New Orleans Film Festival day-by-day viewers guide, part of my annual effort to distill the considerable festival offerings into user-friendly, bite-sized morsels. Formulated from a blend of advance screenings and industry buzz, it includes a daily "best bet" along with a selection of daily "Plan B" picks. For those adventurous sorts who like to wander off the beaten path to find discoveries all their own, I've also included each day's full schedule of events.

So, grab your popcorn. It's festival time. Roll 'em ...

Day 1 (Wednesday, Oct. 14)

Today's best bet: "Born to be Blue" (dir. Robert Budreau | 1 hour 37 minutes | Unrated) Day 1 of the film festival is always the easiest when it comes to deciding which screening to attend. There's always only one screening on tap, and it's always quite the shindig, as festival organizers roll out the red carpet -- literally and figuratively -- to set the right tone for the eight days of partying to follow. In this case, it all takes place at the luxe Orpheum Theater, the recently restored, century-old entertainment palace just off Canal Street. What's more, the movie on tap -- "Born to Be Blue," Robert Budreau's biopic on troubled jazz genius Chet Baker (played by Ethan Hawke) -- feels perfectly appropriate for a film festival unspooling in the birthplace of that distinctly American art form. Unlike other recent Day 1 selections, this one wasn't shot locally, though. Baker was a West Coast cat, and Budreau's film shot in Canada and on a soundstage in England. After debuting at last month's Toronto International Film Festival, "Born to Be Blue" drew notices for its artful (maybe even jazz-like?) approach, one that takes liberties with Baker's story in favor of establishing a certain vibe. "But Budreau isn't out to make a live-action dramatization of Baker's Wikipedia page here," Variety's Andrew Barker wrote in his review. "He's trying to make a real film." In other words: Expect something cool and refreshingly original -- just like Baker. Budreau is expected to be in attendance. Screening details: 7 p.m., Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way.

Today's best bet: "Youth" (dir. Paulo Sorrentino | 1 hour 58 minutes | Rated R for graphic nudity, some sexuality and language) The second day of the 2015 film fest is also the second-slowest day of the 2015 film fest, as things ramp up slowly before the jam-packed weekend schedule. It's a good thing, then, that organizers scheduled one of their higher-profile films for today: the dramatic comedy "Youth," starring old pros Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel, and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Paulo Sorrentino ("The Great Beauty"). Telling the story of a pair of aging artistic types -- one a composer, the other a filmmaker -- as they reflect on their lives while vacationing together in the Swiss Alps, it premiered at the Cannes film festival earlier this year. Sorrentino's film earned immediate praise both for its cinematography and for the performances of Caine and Keitel, as their characters learn it's never too late to amass a little more wisdom. Screening as one of the festival's high-profile "Spotlight" selections, it will get only showing, so now's your chance to see it before its expected theatrical release in New Orleans later in award season. Screening details: 7:30 p.m., Prytania Theatre (5339 Prytania St.)

Today's best bet: "Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine" (3 stars | dir. Alex Gibney | 2 hours 8 minutes | Rated R for language) Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side") sets out to discover the real person behind Steve Jobs, the tech superstar who transformed Apple Computers from company to global cult -- and who in the process single-handedly changed the way the world communicates. Don't expect some starry-eyed worship piece, though. Gibney is the same guy, after all, who pulled back the veil on Scientology in the documentary "Going Clear" and who put Lance Armstrong on the spot in "The Armstrong Lie." Unsurprisingly, "Man in the Machine" is a warts-and-all biography, to say the least. The Steve Jobs we meet here is still an unqualified genius, but he's also a man who -- ironically, given his accomplishments -- doesn't have a sense of how to communicate or relate meaningfully with others. ("He's seducing you, he's vilifying you or he's ignoring you -- you're one of those three people.") Buoyed by a wealth of interviews and archival footage, Gibney's film doesn't break much new ground; there are no real revelations here. But it is well-assembled and enjoyable stuff, a comprehensive and engaging portrait of the difficult genius who was Steve Jobs. Screening details: 7 p.m., Chalmette Movies (8700 West Judge Perez Drive). Encore screenings scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, and 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, both also at the Chalmette Movies.

Plan B Picks

"Room"

"Delta Justice: The Islenos Trappers War"

"Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine"

Day 7 full schedule:

Prytania Theatre (5339 Prytania St.)

Noon

2 p.m.

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

The Theatres at Canal Place (333 Canal St.)

5:15 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

9 p.m.

9:15 p.m.

Chalmette Movies (8700 West Judge Perez Drive)

7 p.m.

9 p.m.

Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St.)

Noon

2 p.m.

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

Ashe Cultural Center (1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.)

6 p.m.

8 p.m.

Day 8 (Wednesday, Oct. 21)

New Orleans actor David Jensen stars in director Allen Frederic's Hurricane Katrina drama 'The King of New Orleans.' (K.O.N.O. Productions)

Today's best bet: "The King of New Orleans" (5 stars | dir. Allen Frederic, with Coodie & Chickie | 1 hour 22 minutes | Unrated, warrants PG-13.) Buoyed by a pitch-perfect performance from local actor David Jensen and a distinct insider's sensibility, "The King of New Orleans" -- screening in competition at this year's festival -- is not only among the best truly independent dramas to come out of New Orleans in recent memory, but it also stands to resonate with locals like few other films can. Jansen stars as Larry Shirt, a congenial United cabdriver who finds himself navigating more than the city's notorious potholes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But this isn't some manipulative trauma drama. As much a deftly written Big Easy essay as it is an entertainment, you can call it a love letter if you must. Just realize that it's as much a love letter to the city's residents as it is to the city itself. That's because Frederic's film doesn't so seem interested so much in trying to explain Katrina to the world as much as it seems intent on explaining it to us, a populace still struggling to wrap its head around the true magnitude of it all. Expect lovely nighttime shots of the city and a wealth of only-in-New-Orleans visual references (K&B, Bud's Broiler, Felix's, Abita Beer). Also expect mentions of memorable events that happened in real life before and after the storm. But also expect that authentic blend of optimism and brutal honesty -- with a little chicory, perhaps -- that resides behind every fleur-de-lis-shaped heart in the 504. "The King of New Orleans" is Frederic's first film, but it's also essential viewing, especially for those who lived and cried through the storm -- and who still wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. To put it in three little words: Yeah, you right.Screening details: 9 p.m. Prytania (5339 Prytania St.); also screens at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Theaters at Canal Place (333 Canal St.)

Today's best bet: "Brooklyn" (dir. John Crawford | 1 hour 51 minutes | Rated PG-13, for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language) The 2015 festival closes with one of its higher-profile films, in director John Crowley's historical drama "Brooklyn." Starring Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"), it tells the story of a young Irish immigrant as she navigates Brooklyn -- and a budding romance -- in the 1950s. Following screenings earlier this year at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, it earned universal praise for Ronan and co-star Emory Cohen, catapulting Ronan -- and Crowley's film as a whole -- into the Oscar conversation. As one of the more in-demand screenings at this year's festival, tickets might be hard to come by, but if you miss it you can watch for it in theaters later in award season.Screening details: 8:30 p.m., Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania St.